Duncan Stutterheim: ID&T and KLM Will Make You Dance
As a small boy I wanted to become a brain surgeon, but after dropping Latin and Greek I let that dream go. My new dream was to be a jet pilot, but my eyesight wasn’t good enough. Nonetheless, I remained fascinated by flying. So it was to be expected that my midlife crisis obsession, in my early forties, was to learn to fly. I now have my Private Pilot Licence (PPL) and fly around the skies of the Netherlands in a propeller aircraft.
ID&T takes me all around the world. We took Sensation abroad for the first time in 2005, to Belgium and Germany. My childhood dream to hold a party in the Amsterdam ArenA soon took a serious turn when Sensation was putting on shows in more than 18 countries.
I am extremely privileged to have been able to see so many of the wonderful places on this planet. I have to be honest, I really do like to work hard, but I also love going on holiday and experiencing fabulous journeys with my family.
One thing I never stop getting a kick out of is flying Business Class. My favourite seat is in a corner by the window. The best flights are those over the ice caps. I can happily spend hours staring out the window at them, doing nothing. For me, flying is much more than getting from A to B. It relaxes me as I watch a good movie, take the time to eat and think about everything we’re doing.
With almost 1.5 million Flying Blue miles to my name, I’ve been around the world quite a few times. Most of that was for ID&T. Once, I arrived in Taiwan and couldn’t understand a thing or read any of the signs, except the one for Sensation. Driving through the city I saw loads of billboards advertising Sensation. That made me feel incredibly proud.
A couple of exciting things are coming up in the next few months. Mysteryland Woodstock in Bethel USA promises to be a special event (23 May 2014). We are going to be the first festival in 45 years to return to the site of the festival of festivals: Woodstock. We are going to put on a party there for a new generation, drawing on all our 22 years’ of experience. We hope it will be just as magical as Woodstock ’69.
On Saturday, 5 July, Sensation’s ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’ is being held in the Amsterdam ArenA. Playing in Amsterdam is always that bit more special than other places. Playing in your own city, including an international crowd of 15,000 all of whom have travelled to Amsterdam for Sensation. The energy in the city during that weekend is phenomenal.
All the best,
Duncan Stutterheim, ID&T
